Mails and letters to the Editor

Amit Shah is the new poster boy of Indian politics ("The Transformer", July 28). The post of BJP chief is a very coveted achievement and a true recognition of his efforts over the years. The party badly needs a leader who can give it a pan-India presence and BJP can't find a better candidate than him. He not only got the party 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh but also peace of mind for five years. Without this success in UP, the mission would have been incomplete. An able lieutenant of Narendra Modi who will bring more glory to the party in future.

Sudhi Ranjan Mishra, Bhubaneswar

The youngest BJP president will not only expand the base of the party in terms of vote share across the nation but will also increase the BJP's reach and visibility. Shah has given Narendra Modi an unprecedented mandate by sending the maximum number of MPs from Uttar Pradesh without which the Prime Minister could never have bargained within the BJP or the RSS to push through his policies and programmes. Modi has returned the favour by appointing Shah as the party president despite opposition from the RSS and a section within the BJP. Shah could very well be the next "PM-in-the-making".

KR Nambiar, Mumbai

There is no doubt that "the transformer" for the BJP in the recent General Election was none other than Amit Shah. With Shah leading from the front, the BJP bulldozed the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samajwadi Party. It is said that it's Uttar Pradesh which decides who rules this country and the BJP rode to power with a brilliant performance in UP.

A Srikantaiah, Bangalore

The unprecedented victory of BJP in the recent parliamentary elections was not a result of Amit Shah's astute strategy planning alone. The shift in favour of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh can be attributed to the worsened law and order situation under the current Samajwadi Party government and the scams during the previous BSP government. At national level, the electorate found the BJP as an alternative to the Congress, whose government was fraught with policy paralysis and scams.

Indu Shankar, Varanasi

Grand Old Lady

Zohra Sehgal left a mark through her acting that is admired across generations ("The World, Her Stage", July 28). But our government hardly knows how to recognise the contribution of such individuals. Only conferring Padma Shri or Padma Bhushan upon an artiste is not enough. The government ignored her request for a ground floor flat. One can imagine how she suffered everyday climbing to the third floor of Mandakini Apartments in Delhi's Alaknanda. It's a shame the government didn't care to address her problem.

Zia M, Delhi

Mobile Mania

Most people don't realise that they are getting addicted to their cell phones ("Hooked to the Handset", July 28). Researchers from the University of Essex have found that people who engaged in personal discussions when a cell phone was nearby, even if neither was actually using it, reported lower relationship quality. Without such gadgets at home, people will find more time for meaningful work.

Mahesh Kapasi, via email

Across the Border

Hafiz Saeed with Ved Pratap Vaidik.

Yoga guru Ramdev's close aide Ved Pratap Vaidik's blatant anti-india stance in an interview with a Pakistani journalist and in a meeting with India's "biggest enemy"Hafiz Saeed, which created a huge uproar in Parliament,was really unfortunate ("Loose Cannon in Pakistan", July 28).However, the Government cannot just look the other way as several questions are being raised as to who facilitated the meeting between Vaidik and Saeed and the role of the Indian Embassy in Pakistan.These questions must be answered by the Government as every Indian has the right to know who were the people or institutions involved in the episode. Since the matter is sensitive in nature, the Government cannot keep silent. In the best interests of the nation, the Government should immediately order a probe to find out as to who fixed the meeting.

KR SRINIVASAN, Secunderabad

"As a sitting judge, i couldn't have gone to the public domain"

Hafiz Saeed with Ved Pratap Vaidik.

Dear Harish,

You know I have always respected you. So, I was hurt by a remark you made recently in connection with my expose of a corrupt High Court Judge.You have said that I maintained a "defeaning silence for 10 years" ("The Flawed Battle for Primacy", August 4).This is not correct.

The incident in question relates to the year 2005 when,as Chief Justice of Madras High Court, I learnt that the judge concerned was indulging in corruption.I immediately informed the then Chief Justice of India, R.C. Lahoti, and requested him to set up a secret IB inquiry to confirm what I had learnt from several sources.On this request,Justice Lahoti ordered an IB inquiry, and the IB report confirmed that what I had said was correct.

Thereafter,it was for the CJI to do the needful. Surely, I was not expected to go to the media about this at that time.Asitting judge cannot go to the public domain as that is against judicial discipline and the unwritten code of conduct for judges.

I was a sitting judge till 20.9. 2011, when I retired as a Supreme Court judge. I was reminded of the incident only recently when some Tamilians wrote on my Facebook page and asked me to mention some of my experiences as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court.

So your saying that I maintained a "defeaning silence" for 10 years is not correct. I did not remain silent after coming to know about the corruption of this judge. I immediately informed justice Lahoti, who as head of the judicial family should have discontinued the additional judge after his two-year term expired, as indeed his Collegium colleagues recommended (as revealed by justice Ruma Pal in a leading national daily). You are senior enough to know that I could not have gone to the public domain in 2005 when I was a sitting judge.

I think you owe me an apology.

Justice Markandey Katju,Chairman, Press Council of India

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